Mahanadi tribunal warns Odisha and Chhattisgarh to resolve water dispute

THe Mahanadi river irrigate conflict tribunal on mon issued a warning to Odisha and Chhattisgarh to close the francis scott key minutes of an inter-state meeting on water availability. It said that upon failure, it will proceed to adjudicate the decade-long river dispute on its merits.The tribunal, chaired by Justice Bela M. Trivedi and comprising members Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Indermeet Kaur Kochhar pointed out the slow pace of the proceedings.“Though on April 11 both the counsel for the states had jointly submitted that the minutes of the meeting held on April 8 with regard to the annual water availability in mean annual flow would be finalised by April 20, the respective advocate generals have again sought further time to submit the minutes of the said meeting, which according to them was on very crucial issue,” it said.It further said, “We are not very happy with the manner in which the proceedings of these references are being conducted. The proceedings are being adjourned at the requests of the advocates for the parties on the ground that they are seriously considering the issues involved in the proceedings for settlement, but we are constrained to observe that so far no concrete proposal for settlement on any of the disputed issues has been placed on record.”The tribunal warned if no consensus was placed on record by May 2, it would proceed to hear the references on case’s merits.The next hearing is scheduled on May 2.HT has reviewed the order.Also Read:Resolve Mahanadi river dispute via mediation, says ex-judge; asks PM to interveneMahanadi, originating in Chhattisgarh, flows 857 km before entering Odisha, sustaining irrigation, hydropower and fisheries across at least 20 of Odisha’s 30 districts.After Odisha built the Hirakud dam in the 1950s, the river has irrigated 2.35 lakh hectares and produces 347.5 MW of hydropower. Six biodiversity hotspots, including Bhitarkanika, Chilika and Tikarpada, depend on its flows.In 2016, Odisha moved the Supreme Court after objecting to what it called “illegal” upstream barrages by Chhattisgarh.The Centre constituted a negotiation committee, which submitted its report in May 2017, upon its failure, the court directed the Centre to constitute a tribunal, which was notified on March 12, 2018, under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.The panel was tasked with quantifying availability, current utilization and future potential in the basin. In 2023, panel inspected major reservoirs, including barrages and dams on Mahanadi in both states.The Centre has now extended tribunal’s tenure by 9 months, pushing its deadline to January 13, 2027.